Introduction to Truck Mounted Attenuator (TMA)

Truck Mounted Attenuator (TMA for short) is a safety protection device specially designed for road construction and maintenance scenarios. Its core function is to absorb collision energy through a special structure, reducing the risk of casualties and property losses when out-of-control vehicles collide with construction areas or equipment. It is a key equipment in the road safety assurance system.

The core value of TMA lies in its buffer protection mechanism of "overcoming rigidity with flexibility". When an out-of-control vehicle accidentally collides with the device, the compressible energy-absorbing structure at its front end will gradually absorb the huge kinetic energy generated by the collision through orderly deformation (such as wrinkling, breaking, sliding, etc.), greatly reducing the impact speed of the vehicle. At the same time, the stable connection design between the entire device and the bearing truck can prevent the device itself from being hit and flown or disintegrated, thereby effectively isolating construction workers, construction machinery from out-of-control vehicles and reducing direct collision injuries.

TMA is usually composed of two core parts: one is the bearing chassis, which mostly uses medium-sized or heavy-duty trucks as the basic carrier to ensure the mobility and stability of the device on the road, and can be flexibly moved according to the construction section; the other is the energy-absorbing buffer device, which is installed at the rear of the truck. The mainstream structures include "foldable energy-absorbing barrels" and "honeycomb aluminum alloy modules". These structures have undergone strict collision tests to ensure the optimal buffering effect within the specified impact speed (usually 50-100 km/h).

The application of TMA is highly focused on road construction and emergency support scenarios, typically including: urban road maintenance sites, where it parks at the front of the construction area to form a "safety barrier"; expressway maintenance operations, especially in sections with lane reduction and temporary lane changes, serving as a mobile protection terminal; tunnel construction or road emergency rescue sites, quickly building a temporary protection boundary to gain safety response time for workers. In addition, some TMAs are also equipped with auxiliary devices such as warning lights and reflective signs to improve visibility at night and in severe weather.

Compared with fixed protective facilities (such as crash barriers), the biggest advantage of TMA is its "mobility". It can dynamically adjust its position with the construction area to adapt to the protection needs of different road sections; at the same time, its modular design facilitates later maintenance - after the energy-absorbing structure is involved in a collision, usually only the damaged modules need to be replaced to put it back into use, reducing the whole-life cost of the equipment. At present, TMA has become a "standard safety equipment" for highway construction in Europe, America and China, and relevant technical standards are constantly being improved to adapt to the protection needs of different vehicle types and road environments.